AIPAC

James Petras: said...."Well, I think I would probably
argue that the pro-Israel lobby, the Zionist Lobby, is the dominant factor in
shaping US policy in the Middle East, particularly in the most recent period.
And I think one has to look at this beyond AIPAC. I mean, we have to look a
whole string of pro-Zionist think tanks from the American Enterprise Institute
on down, and then we have to look at a whole power configuration, which not only
involves AIPAC, but also the President of the Major American Jewish
Organizations, which number 52. We have to look at individuals occupying crucial
positions in the government, as we had recently with Elliott Abrams and Paul
Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and others. We have to look at the army of op-ed
writers who have access to the major newspapers. We have to look at the
super-rich contributors to the Democratic Party, Media moguls etc. And I think
this, together with the leverage in Congress and in the Executive, is the
decisive factor in shaping US foreign policy in the Middle East. And I want to
emphasize that."